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discipline

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verb

Synonym Chooser

How is the word discipline distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of discipline are castigate, chasten, chastise, correct, and punish. While all these words mean "to inflict a penalty on in requital for wrongdoing," discipline implies a punishing or chastening in order to bring under control.

parents must discipline their children

When is castigate a more appropriate choice than discipline?

The meanings of castigate and discipline largely overlap; however, castigate usually implies a severe, typically public censure.

an editorial castigating the entire city council

When would chasten be a good substitute for discipline?

The synonyms chasten and discipline are sometimes interchangeable, but chasten suggests any affliction or trial that leaves one humbled or subdued.

chastened by a landslide election defeat

When can chastise be used instead of discipline?

While the synonyms chastise and discipline are close in meaning, chastise may apply to either the infliction of corporal punishment or to verbal censure or denunciation.

chastised his son for neglecting his studies

When might correct be a better fit than discipline?

While in some cases nearly identical to discipline, correct implies punishing aimed at reforming an offender.

the function of prison is to correct the wrongdoer

When is it sensible to use punish instead of discipline?

The words punish and discipline can be used in similar contexts, but punish implies subjecting to a penalty for wrongdoing.

punished for stealing

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of discipline
Noun
Yet for those who spent the past two decades pushing their disciplines toward legitimacy, the idea of arriving at the finish line together feels more than a little surreal. Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 14 July 2025 The noise event is over well before the hearing, so is the HOA banned from imposing discipline for such unneighborly behavior? Kelly G. Richardson, Oc Register, 11 July 2025
Verb
Senator Paul doesn't believe enough people were fired and that more than just those six Secret Service agents should have been disciplined as a result of this. NBC news, 13 July 2025 The agency continued to discipline deputies who worked in the Tamarac district, suspending Dia Cross, Daimeon Nelson, Eric Baide, Eric Klisiak, Daniel Lovallo and Lemar Blackwood. Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 13 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for discipline
Recent Examples of Synonyms for discipline
Noun
  • Employers believe that workers in specific departments, like sales and marketing (85%) and human resources (78%), will derive significant value from AI implementation.
    Rachel Wells, Forbes.com, 16 July 2025
  • As such, athletic directors are increasingly being treated like CEOs, with their take-home pay directly tied to their departments’ bottom line.
    Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 15 July 2025
Noun
  • Mackenzie sued, arguing that under the Constitution, her American birth gave her citizenship as a right, not a privilege, to be removed only as punishment for a crime or through voluntary expatriation.
    Marcia Biederman, Hartford Courant, 13 July 2025
  • In April, the U.S. government revoked all South Sudanese visas as punishment for the country after its government refused to accept a deportee who was in fact from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
    Elizabeth Shackelford, Chicago Tribune, 11 July 2025
Noun
  • In the second photo, the animals are freed of their restraints — one of the pets is crawling about the bin while the other stays in its shell.
    Colson Thayer, People.com, 24 July 2025
  • Fuentes faces charges of home invasion, disorderly conduct, interfering with an emergency call, violation of protective order, third-degree assault and second-degree unlawful restraint.
    Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 23 July 2025
Verb
  • The Boston Federal Reserve is already testing CBDC programs, and the examples of abuse are everywhere: China's social credit system, which punishes citizens for political dissent, and Canada freezing of truckers' bank accounts in 2022 for protesting vaccine mandates.
    Kevin Sabet, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 July 2025
  • The 22-year-old Shelton was utterly dominant in his first two matches of the tournament, punishing opponents with blistering serves and thunderous ground strokes.
    Jacob Steinberg, Baltimore Sun, 26 July 2025
Noun
  • The company, which leased the area in 2014, received a key permit from President Joe Biden’s (D) Department of the Interior at the end of 2024.
    Christine Condon, Baltimore Sun, 20 July 2025
  • Just over two weeks after deadly flash floods hit Central Texas, the Kerrville city officials announced the number of missing people has dropped to three in Kerr County, the area most devastated by the disaster.
    Dante Motley, Austin American Statesman, 20 July 2025
Noun
  • For all her obvious abilities between the sticks, there is also the conviction to step up and take a penalty herself.
    Megan Feringa, New York Times, 20 July 2025
  • If not, the Cowboys have the right to issue a penalty.
    Justin Grasso, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 July 2025
Noun
  • The Bukele administration has unleashed a wave of repression over the past few months.
    Andrea Salcedo, NPR, 17 July 2025
  • And how Russian composers, those who stayed and those who left, dealt with militarism, nationalism and the threat of repression has never felt more relevant.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2025
Noun
  • Plaintiff Phone Discovery: Critical Strategic Elements Successful phone discovery requires understanding several strategic elements that can significantly improve outcomes: The Education Component: Many resistance issues stem from genuine misunderstanding about what cell phone forensics involves.
    Lars Daniel, Forbes.com, 15 July 2025
  • Dress-up, of course, is a traditional element of ocean voyaging.
    Guy Trebay, Travel + Leisure, 15 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Discipline.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/discipline. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.

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